Dr. W. K. Gregory

Abstract

DB. W. K. GREGORY has recently retired under an age limit from the staff of the American Museum of Natural History. For some forty years he occupied a very special place in that great institution, for his knowledge of comparative anatomy extended over the whole range of vertebrates, both recent and fossil, and his philosophical mind led him to make wide ranging comparisons and detailed analyses of structure which have contributed very greatly to our understanding of structure and especially of the course of evolutionary processes. His early works on Tritubucular teeth and on the orders of mammals were of great importance, and were but the harbingers of many others which have since appeared. During the past twenty years his immense experience of mammalian structure has enabled him to contribute much to our understanding of the significance of the many fossil human skulls which have become known, and he has at the same time devoted much attention to the detailed structure of modern fish. But Dr. Gregory's retirement is only from his formal position; relieved of administration he may, we hope, continue even more actively his own researches.